RIYADH: A 102-year-old man has undergone a minimally invasive heart procedure at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare in Dhahran after suffering repeated internal bleeding linked to blood-thinning medication.
The patient, Ahmed Alzayer, had previously survived a stroke but the medication prescribed to prevent him having another led to severe anemia and multiple hospital admissions.
Doctors recommended a procedure known as the Watchman left atrial appendage closure, which involves implanting a device that seals a small pouch in the heart where blood clots commonly form. If successful the patient is no longer dependent on blood thinners.
“When you reach my age, it is easy to assume that certain treatments are no longer meant for you. My experience has shown me otherwise,” Alzayer told Arab News.
“I am grateful to the doctors who guided me through this with such care and honesty and I hope my story encourages others to have open conversations with their own physicians about what may still be possible for them.”
Ahmed Alzayer told Arab News he was grateful to all the doctors who took care of him during the procedure. (Supplied)
Dr. Saad Hasaniah, a cardiology consultant at JHAH, said that the success of the procedure was a result of careful planning and a coordinated team approach.
“Every decision was made through a multidisciplinary evaluation, with close consultation with the patient and his family at every step,” he told Arab News.
“Once we determined that the Watchman procedure was the right path forward, the team approached it with a tailored strategy that accounted for the patient’s age, his medical history and the specific risks involved.”
The minimally invasive nature of the procedure was critical as it “allowed us to deliver a meaningful intervention with minimal disruption, which made all the difference for a patient of his age,” he said.
Hasaniah described his outlook before the procedure, which was carried out in October, as “cautiously optimistic.”
“When you take on a case of this complexity you prepare for every scenario but you also place trust in the evidence, the technology and the team around you,” he said.
“We had done the work up front. This included extensive evaluation, honest conversations with the family and meticulous procedural planning. That preparation gave us confidence going in but in medicine, we never take outcomes for granted.
“The fact that the patient was able to go home within 24 hours and has remained free of bleeding-related admissions since is the kind of result we hoped for and it speaks to how well the procedure suited his needs.”
The case reinforced the hospital’s belief that age alone should not determine access to care, Hasaniah said.
“What this case underscores is the importance of looking at each patient as an individual, weighing risks, quality of life and what doing nothing might cost them.
“For older adults we often default to conservative approaches and rightly so in many cases. But this experience reminds us that with the right evaluation and the right team advanced interventions can be both safe and transformative for older patients. It’s a mindset of personalized care that we will continue to apply.
“JHAH has the clinical expertise, the technology and, just as importantly, the multidisciplinary culture that made this case possible.
"Our recently launched Cardiovascular Center of Excellence is built precisely for this kind of complex, personalized care. Each patient is unique and we would always begin with a thorough evaluation but the foundation is in place to support similar cases when the clinical circumstances call for it.”
Dr. Howard Podolsky, CEO of JHAH, said: “A 102-year-old patient was given a real second chance at life, not because of a single procedure, but because of an entire team that refused to let age define what was possible for him.
Dr. Howard Podolsky, CEO of JHAH. (Supplied)
“I felt tremendous pride in our clinical team and for the patient and his family for placing their trust in us during such a difficult decision. Hearing that he was able to return home within 24 hours and that he has been doing well since, is exactly the kind of outcome that reminds you why JHAH exists.
“Our responsibility is to make sure that age is never a barrier to receiving the right care.”
